In my last article I spoke about IT’s evolution from its technological heritage into a Managed Services Provider utilizing the five domains of ITIL V3 as its ticket into the enterprise business leadership circle. Much has been written about breaking down the technological silos that have prevented IT from presenting a unified face to the business as a service provider aligned with business goals and objectives.
Yet, I believe IT must continue to develop silos to support new models that will help it meet its goals – I call them ‘silos of purpose,’ and they are aligned with the ITIL V3 domains.

Successful ITIL adoption depends upon cross-silo process interaction and shared responsibilities. ITIL Version 3 carves IT into five domains (Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation and Improvement) and outlines for each the people, process and product requirements to build a structure for the domain within the IT organization.

The following newsletter provides a high-level blueprint of how IT organizations can align themselves and their service delivery partners with the five domains of ITIL V3. This alignment will enable IT to create and deliver a new generation of managed IT services optimized for cost, quality and compliance with security and government mandates.

While ITIL V2 served its purpose of making IT organizations aware that IT service management could be done better, ITIL V3 provides the detail on how to make them better. By carving IT up into ‘silos of purpose’ of Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation and Improvement, ITIL V3 provides guidance on how to:

Align service delivery team members (internal and external) with the domain silo they are responsible for within their respective departmental silos.

Build out the process areas to ensure that team members are operating within the ITIL guidelines specified for each domain.

Select and implement products and or services that will automate any or all aspects of the domain workflow and task requirements.

ITIL’s IT Service Lifecycle Management Model

The figure below represents the five domains of ITIL’s IT Service Lifecycle along with the people, process and products required to make each domain fulfill its ‘silo of purpose’ within the IT organization.

IT Service Strategy – Planning the IT Services

Service Strategy deals with the strategic analysis, planning, positioning, and implementation relating to IT service models, strategies, and objectives. It provides guidance on leveraging service management capabilities to effectively deliver value to customers and illustrate value for service providers.

The following people, process and products combine to make this a functional operating unit with IT:

People

Service Definition Manager

Service Research Manager

Financial Analysis Manager

Service Marketing Manager

Service Forecast Manager

Process

Portfolio Management

Financial Management

Demand Management

Products

Service Request & Planning Tools

Service Knowledge & Configuration Management Tools

IT Service Design –Modeling the IT Services

Service Design translates strategic plans and objectives and creates the designs and specifications for execution through service transition and operations.

People

Security Engineering Manager

Desktop Engineering Manager

Network Engineering Manager

Systems, Servers & Storage Engineering Manager

Applications Engineering Manager

Process

Service Catalogue Management

Service Level Management

Capacity Management

Availability Management

Continuity Management

Information Security Management

Supplier Management

Products

Service Catalogue Tools

Service Level Management Tools

Capacity Planning Tools

Service Modeling Tools

Service Knowledge & Configuration Management Tools

IT Service Transition - Implementing the IT Services

Service Transition provides guidance on the service design and implementation, ensuring that the service delivers the intended strategy and can be operated and maintained effectively.

People

Security Asset Manager

Desktop Asset Manager

Network Asset Manager

Systems, Servers & Storage Asset Manager

Applications Asset Manager

Process

Support & Transition Management

Change Management

Asset & Configuration Management

Release & Deploy Management

Validation Management

Evaluation Management

Knowledge Management

Products

Asset Management Tool

Service provision Tool

Run Book Task Automation Tools

Service Knowledge & Configuration Management Tools

IT Service Operation – Managing the IT Services

Service Operation provides guidance on managing a service through its day-to-day production life. It also provides guidance on supporting operations by means of new models and architectures such as shared services, utility computing, web services, and mobile commerce.

People

Security Operation Manager

Desktop Operations Manager

Network Operations Manager

Systems, Server & Storage Operations Manager

Applications Operations Manager

Process

Event Management

Incident Management

Problem Management

Fulfillment Management

Access Management

Service Desk Function Management

Service Operations Function Management

Technical Operations Function Management

Application Operations Function Management

Products

Service Desk with Incident Management Tool

Problem Management Tool

Event Management Tool

Run Book Technology Troubleshooting Tool

Run Book Application Troubleshooting Tool

Service Knowledge & Configuration Management Tools

IT Continual Service Improvement – Measuring the IT Services

Continual Service Improvement provides guidance on measuring service performance through the service life-cycle, suggesting improvements in service quality, operational efficiency and business continuity.

People

Service Measurement Manager

Quality Measurement Manager

Compliance Measurement Manager

Security Measurement Manager

Resource Measurement Manager

Process

IT Governance Management (using COBIT best practices)

IT Resource Management (using PMI methods)

IT Quality Management (using Six Sigma methods)

IT Security Management (using ISO standards)

Products

Compliance Management & Measurement Tools

Service Knowledge & Configuration Management Tools

Conclusion

Utilize the five domains of IT as ‘silos of purpose’ that speed the journey toward IT operational excellence by building three capabilities into the Business/IT alignment model:

Align service delivery team members (internal & external) with each ITIL V3 domain, in addition to their respective departmental and technological functions.

Build out both the ITIL process and the ITIL domain areas for each functional unit.

Select and implement the products that will automate any or all aspects of each functional unit and ITIL domain workflow and task requirements.